Tube forming machines generally require that segments of the tube be cutoff in a tube cutting machine, such as that described in my prior U. S. Pat. No. 4,111,346, after which the tube ends are suitably formed to provide a number of desired tube end configurations in further steps in the overall process of fabricating tube segments generally. Tube double end forming now requires that these severed segments be conveyed to a station where both ends are formed by independently operable forming devices.
The system to be described avoids the necessity for precisely positioning each tube segment at such a station in a two station process that involves a lack of control over the tube segment due to the requirement for conveying the tube segment from the cut off station to the tube end forming station.